HSBC intends to increase its variable pay to 200% of fixed pay, which will be put to shareholder approval on 23 May 2014 at its annual general meeting.

The report also showed that the bank’s bonus pool increased from US$3.69 billion (£2.21 billion) in 2012 to US$3.92 billion (£2.35 billion) in 2013.

The report stated: “The requested increase in the cap would give us the ability to minimise the increase in fixed remuneration costs and so help to maintain greater flexibility on total pay.

“We believe that it is vital to maintain the link of variable pay to the achievement of the business objectives of the organisation, and it is also necessary to ensure our total compensation package for material risk takers remains competitive.

“As a result, a rebalancing from variable pay to fixed pay to the extent necessary to achieve this objective is warranted.”